Chicken Soup
by brookemopolitan
Summary: Rachel is sick...fill in the blanks... shameless Puckleberry fluff... for my 200th reviewer of Every Inch of My Love


Hey guys! I'm sorry this took so long, RL is kicking my arse something fierce! The next chap of EIOML is coming, its been drafted, but finding time to type it is the challenge!

This is for mag721, my 200th reviewer! Inspired by being my being sick (wish I had Murse Puck to fix it!)

Don't own!

***

Rachel coughed loudly and groaned. She had caught whatever bug was floating around the school lately. Rachel heard some fumbling from Quinn's room. Quinn stuck her head in the door.

"Rach, are you ready? Its nearly… you look awful!" She said. Rachel sneezed.

"Gee, thanks." She said as sarcastically as she could manage. Quinn shrugged and put a hand on her forehead.

"Ooh, you're warm. Stay home today. Lots of fluids." She said. Rachel nodded. A car horn beeped.

"See how romantic Finn is? Feel better bub!" She said, heading for the door. Rachel dragged herself out of bed, and slipped her snuggie on. She unlocked her iPhone and sent a text to Noah.

"So sick right now. I'm staying home. Have a good day baby. Love you x" She checked the medicine cabinet and discovered they were out of cold and flu tablets. She cringed. She had disposed of all of them after the Vitamin D incident. She grabbed the tissues, and with some effort, pulled out the sofa bed. She flopped down to recuperate energy before attempting to put on a DVD.

"Im comin 2 stay wit u. Do u need nefing?" Rachel smiled at the text.

"You don't need to skip school because I have a sniffle. I'm just being a baby." She sent back.

"Stop bein dumb. Il b ova soon. What do you need?" Rachel barely hesitated before she sent back a text.

"Chicken noodle soup mix, a tin of creamed corn, sprite, cold and flu pills, eucalyptus throat lozenges, tissues that don't hurt my nose and someone to play with my hair. I warned you I was high maintenance" She texted back. It took a few seconds to get a reply.

"B dere soon" Rachel put her phone on the coffee table and crawled up to grab an extra blanket and put on a movie. She was just about to sit down when the doorbell rang. Rachel stumbled to answer it. She swung the door open to see her boyfriend holding a massive bag of groceries.

"Hi baby." She rasped. She let him inside and shut the door to block the cold wind. He walked to the kitchen and put down his load. He handed her a dose of pills and a glass of water. She downed them gratefully and began to suck on a throat lozenge as he put a hand to her forehead to check her temperature. She sneezed four times. She looked up and saw Noah offering her a box of tissues. Rachel accepted one, and blew her nose.

"I'm a mess. You really don't have to stay here if you don't want to. I don't want to infect you." She said. Noah shook his head.

"Heck no. You're sick babe, and I'm not going to be a shitty boyfriend and leave you here alone all day. Go watch your movie, I'm gonna get started on this chicken soup. What the hell does the creamed corn do?" He asked. Rachel smiled.

"It's grandmomma's recipe. You make the soup normally, and then you add the corn right at the end. It tastes awesome, especially when you're sick." She said. Noah nodded seriously. Rachel took the tissue box and flopped onto the sofa bed. She coughed loudly, so she propped herself up with several pillows. She looked up at Noah when he came in.

"I'm sorry I'm being such a baby." She said. Noah shook his head, before taking off his sneakers and sitting down next to her.

"No way babe. You're allowed to order me around when you're sick. Hasn't stopped you when you're healthy." He said. Rachel giggled, which quickly turned into a coughing fit. He rubbed her back soothingly and offered her a glass of water when the coughing subsided. Rachel shivered, and pulled the blanket up over her.

"Now, what are we watching?" Noah asked.

"Its an old Fred and Ginger movie." Rachel said.

"Not a musical?" He asked. Rachel shook her head.

"Of course not. I sing along to musicals. I'll ruin my throat if I sing when I'm congested. I watch dance movies when I'm sick" she explained. Noah nodded. He gestured for her to prop herself up on his lap. Rachel frowned and did so.

"I believe one of the things you asked for was for someone to play with your hair?" He asked. Rachel sniffled and nodded. She sighed in delight when she felt his hands tangle in her thick tresses.

"You're like a cat. You're practically purring!" He teased. Rachel nodded.

"This used to be the only way to get me to sleep when I was sick as a child. It's my favourite thing ever, to have someone play with my hair." Rachel explained. Her eyelids slipped shut as his fingers continued their gentle ministrations. She barely stirred when he moved her so he could check the pot he left on in the kitchen. He returned to find Rachel sprawled on her stomach, the blanket kicked off, leaving her dressed in the shirt she'd stolen off of him before Regionals, and a pair of knee high socks with musical symbols all over them. He put a hand against her forehead. She was nowhere near as warm as she was when he arrived. That was good. He sat in one of the recliner seats, and changed the movie to the original _Oceans 11 _as she slept.

***

Rachel woke up a disorientated mess. She wasn't in her bed. She sat up, and shivered. She pulled on her snuggie back to front. It hit her. She had stayed home sick, and Noah had insisted on staying with her. She wandered out to the kitchen.

"Hey baby. I was about to come wake you up. Lunch is ready." He said. She smiled when she saw bowls of chicken soup and a loaf of garlic bread.

"I really hope I didn't screw up the soup. Mom always makes us eat garlic bread when we're sick. Apparently garlic is way good for you." He said, slightly uneasily. Rachel sipped at the soup.

"You nailed it baby. If I weren't a walking snot machine, I'd kiss you right now." She said. He smiled and took his own spoonful.

"You were right. This is awesome." He said. Rachel smiled, and sneezed. They finished lunch, and made their way back to the living room. Rachel put on _Step Up_ and snuggled against Noah.

"Thank you for coming today baby. It means so much to me." She said. He kissed her forehead.

"Anything for you gorgeous. Its kinda a shame we have to spend our three month anniversary like this though." He said. Rachel sat up abruptly.

"What? Its not our three month anniversary, is it?" She asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, it is." She shook her head.

"No. No! It can't be. It's not until next week!" She said. She looked at the date on her phone and realised he was right. She burst into tears.

"Whoa, babe. Calm down!" He said frantically.

"I'm such a crappy girlfriend! I make you miss school because I'm sick. I'm gonna make you sick! You deal with so much stuff from all your teammates because I'm a freak, and you constantly risk criminal charges to defend my honour, and I go and forget our anniversary! I'm sick, I'm all disgusting and I'm a failure!" She moaned, before breaking into a spluttering coughing fit. She blew her nose several times and looked up at him.

"Do you hate me?" She asked. Noah took in her bloodshot eyes and red, sore nose, combined with the tear tracks on her cheeks and the face of utter misery.

"Don't be stupid. Of course I don't hate you. Baby, I love you; even when you're a hot mess like you are right now. It's ok; it's not a big deal at all! Just please, stop crying!" He said. He pulled her into a hug. She sniffled against his chest.

"Are you sure?" She asked. He pressed several kisses against her hair.

"I'm very sure. Baby, there is nowhere else I'd rather be. I kinda wish you were well though, cause I really don't like seeing you like this." He said. Rachel pulled away.

"Normally my immune system is one to be envied. I have an extensive vitamin regimen that keeps me healthy. But when something slips through the system, it hits me hard. I don't understand those people who are sick all the time. I'd kill myself! I hate feeling like this." She said. Noah chuckled. He really wasn't surprised. He started playing with her hair again. Rachel sighed and curled closer to him.

When Quinn returned home from school that day, she smiled when she saw Rachel and Puck asleep on the living room sofa together, one of his hands threaded in her hair.

***

So, I read a heap of spoilers for the back nine… I really HATE Finchel, but I could get into St. Berry (because there's gonna be shit all Puckleberry love).

Sassy26 and I have been tweeting, and we've decided that we need to get a Puckleberry trending topic. Everybody on Twitter, get on there and trend #puckleberryREPRESENT (spell it that way, so we don't get confused :P), and those without Twitter, get Twitter, and trend it!

If you follow me I'll follow you back! Twitter . com / redlipsticklove


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